This invention relates to adjustable mounts for supporting equipment and, more particularly, to an adjustable mount that can be tilted omnidirectionally without rotating the equipment mounted thereon.
Several kinds of equipment require that they be substantially vertical relative to the ground and the effects of gravity to operate properly. Refrigerators, for example, cannot be operated at a tilt for more than a short time before they are permanently-damaged. Such a situation may arise with a refrigerator mounted in a recreation vehicle that is parked on an incline. The refrigerator must be shut off, rendering it useless for storing foods that must be preserved.
The present state of the art offers several mounts that can support equipment and level it, but these mounts often require that the equipment be horizontally rotated before it can be tilted at the desired position. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,803 to Gahan discloses a swivel mounting for adjusting the tilt of a television mounted thereon. The mounting includes a base member and support member with mating spherical surfaces. But tilting of the support member is restricted by a diametral slot in the support to a single plane. To tilt the television to a predetermined position, the support member is rotated horizontally relative to the base member and then tilted. In the process, the direction in which the television faces also changes.
Similarly, a swivel-tilt platform disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,060 to Anderson has a tilt platform resting on a base member. The limited plane of tilt of the platform requires that it be rotated horizontally to tilt a computer monitor to the selected position. Other devices that require horizontal rotation for omnidirectional tilting are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,603,545 to Boniface and U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,274 to Resk. Rotation, however, is often impractical. In the example of the refrigerator mounted in a recreation vehicle, the refrigerator cannot be rotated on a conventional mount because of the limited space within the vehicle.
Therefore, a need remains for an adjustable mount that can be tilted omnidirectionally without rotating the equipment mounted thereon.